|
|
|
Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE SONNET, by EDITH WHARTON Poet's Biography
First Line: Pure form, that like some chalice of old
Last Line: To pour them in a consecrated cup.
Subject(s): Sonnet (as Literary Form)
First Line: Pure form, that like some chalice of old
Last Line: To pour them in a consecrated cup.
Subject(s): Sonnet (as Literary Form)
PURE form, that like some chalice of old time
Contain'st the liquid of the poet's thought
Within thy curving hollow, gem-enwrought
With interwoven traceries of rhyme,
While o'er thy brim the bubbling fancies climb,
What thing am I, that undismayed have sought
To pour my verse with trembling hand untaught
Into a shape so small yet so sublime?
Because perfection haunts the hearts of men,
Because thy sacred chalice gathered up
The wine of Petrarch, Shakspere, Shelley -- then
Receive these tears of failure as they drop
(Sole vintage of my life), since I am fain
To pour them in a consecrated cup.
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
WAS THAT REALLY A SONNET? by ANSELM HOLLO
RETICENT SONNET by ANNE CARSON
SONNET: OF THREE GIRLS AND OF THEIR TALK by GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO
WHAT THE SONNET IS by EUGENE JACOB LEE-HAMILTON
ON A MAGAZINE SONNET by RUSSELL HILLARD LOINES
THE HOUSE OF LIFE: THE SONNET (INTRODUCTION) by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI